Backstage at Dancing With the Stars: The Cast Reacts to Tom Bergeron's Loss, Emma and Alek's Date, and More

The consensus backstage at Dancing With the Stars after the show was that it was one of the best—if not the best—episode so far this season (you can read our critique here). The pros and celebs usually don't love switch-up week because it requires a new learning and teaching style, but this time around, it was mostly all positive. Almost everyone improved, and the addition of the lie detector clips made for a joyous, lighthearted atmosphere in the ballroom. But what the dancers and contestants (or the audience) didn't know was that hours earlier, Emmy-winning host Tom Bergeron's father had passed away at the age of 81. Post-show, Allison Holker still hadn't heard the news of Ray Bergeron's passing. At the beginning of the evening's two-hour performance, Bergeron thanked the fans for the messages of support in his absence last week, but made no mention of his father's passing. It wasn't until the remaining seconds of the show when the credits were rolling that Bergeron eloquently addressed the sad news: "I want to take a moment and say that my dad loved this show. Never missed an episode. And I'd like to think somewhere that he didn't miss this one."

The consensus backstage at Dancing With the Stars after the show was that it was one of the best—if not the best—episode so far this season (you can read our critique here). The pros and celebs usually don't love switch-up week because it requires a new learning and teaching style, but this time around, it was mostly all positive. Almost everyone improved, and the addition of the lie detector clips made for a joyous, lighthearted atmosphere in the ballroom. But what the dancers and contestants (or the audience) didn't know was that hours earlier, Emmy-winning host Tom Bergeron's father had passed away at the age of 81.

Post-show, Allison Holker still hadn't heard the news of Ray Bergeron's passing. At the beginning of the evening's two-hour performance, Bergeron thanked the fans for the messages of support in his absence last week, but made no mention of his father's passing. It wasn't until the remaining seconds of the show when the credits were rolling that Bergeron eloquently addressed the sad news: "I want to take a moment and say that my dad loved this show. Never missed an episode. And I'd like to think somewhere that he didn't miss this one." He then tapped his heart and said, "Thank you," before the screen faded to black and read, "In Memory of Ray Bergeron, January 24, 1934 to October 12, 2015."

After the show, Tom posted this heart-warming photo of him and his dad on his Instagram page, stating that both at his wedding and in his life, his dad was his best man. Cue the waterworks.

Carlos PenaVega told us backstage that he was told Tom got the news "during dress rehearsal," which typically takes place a few hours before the live show. None of the contestants/pros knew about Tom's loss until after the show. When we spoke with Hayes Grier afterwards, he admitted that he's going through a tough time as well right now. "I'm losing my dog, and that's tough," he said. "I can't imagine losing my father. I don't want to even think about it. I can't imagine what Tom's going through, but I hope he's hanging strong. Tom's the man." Echoed Lindsay Arnold: "It's just so sad [to hear about Tom's father]." She went on to add that it was amazing how he handled everything under the glare of the spotlight. Allison Holker added, "We just wish him the best during this very hard time."

On a much lighter note, we teased Derek Hough about his lie detector answer when he was asked if he's the best dancer on the show and he replied, "No." The "lie buzzer" went off, and Derek turned beet red.__

As for __Bindi Irwin, was she nervous about having Val's brother, Maks, judge her in the ballroom? "I was really excited, but definitely nervous too. I knew that he was going to give true, honest, and fair critiques to all of us. But it was really great, and I think we all took something away from what he said."

Oh, and what about that new, longer, more voluminous hairstyle that Maks has been sporting lately? "Look, he's growing up and settling down," relayed Val. "I think he cares less about his appearance and more about his impact on the world. He likes his hair, and I like him when he's happy, so as long as he's happy, it's all good." We aren't quite sure what hair has to do with making an impact on the world, but like Val said, if Maks is happy, so are we.

Next week Olivia Newton John will guest-judge, and the stars and their partners will take on major dances from popular films. If we can't get a "Cookie Time" from Troop Beverly Hills, I call foul. Who's with me?